Question about graphics cards and the inside of a laptop

[All_Is_Great]

My laptop is about 4 years old, and I'm pretty certain it's becoming slower and slower. At gaming, browsing, etc.

 

Main problem is, I don't know what's causing this. There's alot of dust inside I'm pretty sure, but it might be something related to specs?? I have no idea.

 

So my question is, is it easy to open up your laptop and clean the inside with like compressed air? And should I attempt to put in a new graphics card or hard drive or whatever? I've been told it's hard to put it together and I shouldn't open it without professional knowledge, but I've also been told it's pretty easy.

 

Someone mind telling me what to do?

[Tim]

Normally the graphics card is built INTO the latops' mobo on most Laptops so chances are you wont be able to swap it out. All you need to do if you use compressed air is remove the panels for the RAM, HDD, and there's another I cant remember, asnd give it a good blow out. You dont need to remove the drives etc and usually the panels are in their own shape so putting them back on isnt hard, just dont lose the screws.

[All_Is_Great]

Ok that's cool, I'll give it a try this weekend.

 

If I wanted to buy a new computer/laptop, should I buy one from like BestBuy or build one myself?

[strilmus]

It really depends on how far you want to go to understand your computer.

 

If you're willing to take the time to do the proper research for such a project, building your own computer can be a very fulfilling process after you've tangled with all of the manuals and software.

 

On the other hand if you just want a computer that you know you'll be able to maintain and upgrade as it ages without the hassle of tinkering with its guts for more than a day, you should probably just put more time into looking for something that's right for you rather than start something that you never end up finishing.

 

These guys probably know way more about building than I do, though...

[Guy]

Building isn't too bad if you're eager to learn how to do it. If you want to do anything much above the bare minimums of internet browsing, its generally accepted to be cheaper to build your own by buying individual components (although looking for combos can save money).

 

As for laptops, replacing the graphics card is rather hard, if not impossible in some models.

 

Desktop vs laptop, well thats up to you. Desktop you get more 'bang for your buck', so to speak, but laptops have the advantage of being portable. If you need it for taking notes at college or anything I would get a laptop, but this is basically just personal preferance.

[All_Is_Great]

I see. What kind of info would I be looking for if I wanted to build a computer?

[The Observer]

I see. What kind of info would I be looking for if I wanted to build a computer?

 

You need to first know what you want to expect from your computer. If you want to play games such as Crysis you're looking at building a computer with more expensive components (plus a stronger power supply).

[Guy]

One of the main things to look at when building a computer is what you want out of it, then you can tailor it exactly to your needs. You need a solid image of what you want to get out of it, and if you will want to run better games in the future without upgrading. Compatibliity between parts is an important option. I'm not sure if newegg deliver to Canada, but if they do then thats your best bet.

 

[spoiler=Parts of a computer]CPU

RAM

Motherboard

CPU cooler (if the stock one is not good enough for you)

Hard disk

Case

Power supply

Graphics card

DVD drive (if applicable)

Operating system

 

 

For gaming, a good graphics card is what you're going to want, rather than a massively high end CPU.

[Jernlov]

For gaming, a good graphics card is what you're going to want, rather than a massively high end CPU.

Depends entirely on your resolution.

 

<1680x1050 - more CPU, less GPU

>1680x1050 - more CPU AND more GPU

 

For example I play at 1440x900 and have an i5 760 and HD6870. In theory this is good all the way up to 1920x1200 but I would switch out for a 6950 if I was playing at that resolution since the extra power will be utilised properly.

[jasignhagj]

What kind of price range are you looking at?

[Sbrideau]

One of the main things to look at when building a computer is what you want out of it, then you can tailor it exactly to your needs. You need a solid image of what you want to get out of it, and if you will want to run better games in the future without upgrading. Compatibliity between parts is an important option. I'm not sure if newegg deliver to Canada, but if they do then thats your best bet.

 

[spoiler=Parts of a computer]CPU

RAM

Motherboard

CPU cooler (if the stock one is not good enough for you)

Hard disk

Case

Power supply

Graphics card

DVD drive (if applicable)

Operating system

 

 

For gaming, a good graphics card is what you're going to want, rather than a massively high end CPU.

 

Newegg does deliver to Canada, but for Canadians the best bet is NCIX.com. They're very good with the price matching for parts that costs less elsewhere, which often ends up costing less to build a full computer than than Newegg or other websites like Tiredirect.ca.

[jasignhagj]

One of the main things to look at when building a computer is what you want out of it, then you can tailor it exactly to your needs. You need a solid image of what you want to get out of it, and if you will want to run better games in the future without upgrading. Compatibliity between parts is an important option. I'm not sure if newegg deliver to Canada, but if they do then thats your best bet.

 

[spoiler=Parts of a computer]CPU

RAM

Motherboard

CPU cooler (if the stock one is not good enough for you)

Hard disk

Case

Power supply

Graphics card

DVD drive (if applicable)

Operating system

 

 

For gaming, a good graphics card is what you're going to want, rather than a massively high end CPU.

 

Newegg does deliver to Canada, but for Canadians the best bet is NCIX.com. They're very good with the price matching for parts that costs less elsewhere, which often ends up costing less to build a full computer than than Newegg or other websites like Tiredirect.ca.

 

I don't know about that. Sounded good to me, so I checked and the Core i7 2600k is $25 more at ncix.

[grundledib]

My laptop is about 4 years old, and I'm pretty certain it's becoming slower and slower. At gaming, browsing, etc.

 

Main problem is, I don't know what's causing this. There's alot of dust inside I'm pretty sure, but it might be something related to specs?? I have no idea.

 

So my question is, is it easy to open up your laptop and clean the inside with like compressed air? And should I attempt to put in a new graphics card or hard drive or whatever? I've been told it's hard to put it together and I shouldn't open it without professional knowledge, but I've also been told it's pretty easy.

 

Someone mind telling me what to do?

 

Cracking open a laptop case is very easy. Turn it over, unscrew the screws around the edges of the panels you can see, take the panel off, give a good squirt of compressed air. Repeat every 3-4 months or so.

 

As for your computer getting slower, it's the operating system. Hardware does not get worse/ slower with age. The best thing you can do is backup all the contents of your hard drive (after deleting any unnecessary data), format the disk and reinstall your operating system. If your laptop is 4 years old, I'm guessing you're running Windows Vista? It's well worth upgrading to Windows 7. This sounds difficult, but it really isn't; Microsoft have made the whole process very easy since XP came along.

 

Ideally you should reinstall Windows every 6-8 months or so to stop it accumulating excess bloat, as Windows tends to do.

 

If you feel like you couldn't handle reinstalling an OS, then you should, at the very least, defragment your drive, clean the registry (doesn't do a lot, but it can't hurt), run regular virus scans and uninstall all the programs you don't use any more.

 

To defrag, use Defraggler

To clean the registry, use CCleaner

The best anti-virus scanner for Windows at the moment is Microsoft Security Essentials

I'd really recommend using a browser other than Internet Explorer, if you aren't already. My personal preference is Firefox, but Google Chrome and Opera are all very good too.

 

 

If you want to get a new computer regardless of the performance of your current one, building a PC is very easy, no matter how daunting the prospect is. Take your time to research what you want your computer to be able to handle and how much you want to spend. Look for guides on building a computer, watch videos, or, best of all, find someone you know who knows how to do it already and ask them to help you. I find that this is a very useful guideline for what to buy at each price point. That would be the best place to start. I'm not familiar with the current range of laptops, but I would suggest that if you only use your computer inside your home, a PC is cheaper spec-for-spec, and far more customizable and upgradeable.

 

Hope I helped and didn't sound like a patronising arse. Feel free to PM me if you want any help with anything.

[Sbrideau]

One of the main things to look at when building a computer is what you want out of it, then you can tailor it exactly to your needs. You need a solid image of what you want to get out of it, and if you will want to run better games in the future without upgrading. Compatibliity between parts is an important option. I'm not sure if newegg deliver to Canada, but if they do then thats your best bet.

 

[spoiler=Parts of a computer]CPU

RAM

Motherboard

CPU cooler (if the stock one is not good enough for you)

Hard disk

Case

Power supply

Graphics card

DVD drive (if applicable)

Operating system

 

 

For gaming, a good graphics card is what you're going to want, rather than a massively high end CPU.

 

Newegg does deliver to Canada, but for Canadians the best bet is NCIX.com. They're very good with the price matching for parts that costs less elsewhere, which often ends up costing less to build a full computer than than Newegg or other websites like Tiredirect.ca.

 

I don't know about that. Sounded good to me, so I checked and the Core i7 2600k is $25 more at ncix.

Then again you can use the price match which is almost always accepted and get it for the same price. That at the same price and other parts that are lower price on Ncix than other websites, makes for a lower price overall.

[Guy]

As for your computer getting slower, it's the operating system. Hardware does not get worse/ slower with age

I'ma say that I dont think this is strictly speaking true. Not just HDDs, which do break over time (they're mechanical, after all), but the electronics in other components from CPU to GFX Card to Motherbord run down, AFAIK.

[Sbrideau]

As for your computer getting slower, it's the operating system. Hardware does not get worse/ slower with age

I'ma say that I dont think this is strictly speaking true. Not just HDDs, which do break over time (they're mechanical, after all), but the electronics in other components from CPU to GFX Card to Motherbord run down, AFAIK.

Yes the HDD will slow down as it gets filled with stuff, especially when there is about 20% free space left. As for the other components, the CPU and the GPU can slow down depending how much they are making heat and how often you clean them, as overheating will cause damage.

[grundledib]

As for your computer getting slower, it's the operating system. Hardware does not get worse/ slower with age

I'ma say that I dont think this is strictly speaking true. Not just HDDs, which do break over time (they're mechanical, after all), but the electronics in other components from CPU to GFX Card to Motherbord run down, AFAIK.

Yes the HDD will slow down as it gets filled with stuff, especially when there is about 20% free space left. As for the other components, the CPU and the GPU can slow down depending how much they are making heat and how often you clean them, as overheating will cause damage.

 

Yes, HDD access and read times/ speeds slow down as more of the available space is used, but the differences between a 4 year old hard drive that's been defragged, cleaned up and reformatted, and a brand new equivalent, are minimal and most likely wouldn't warrant buying a new drive.

 

What I'm saying is that >90% of the effect of a computer 'slowing down', especially over a period as short as 4 years, on what I assume to be a fairly gently used laptop, is down to software/ maintaining the HDD poorly.

 

Anyway, the most important thing is that the OP doesn't buy a new computer because his old one is 'slowing down' without going through some of the steps I listed above.

[Guy]

What I'm saying is that >90% of the effect of a computer 'slowing down', especially over a period as short as 4 years, on what I assume to be a fairly gently used laptop, is down to software/ maintaining the HDD poorly.

 

That much is true. I was more talking about physical degradation of the parts in my previous posts. OP just needs to figure out if he needs a new computer and for what reason.

[jasignhagj]

One of the main things to look at when building a computer is what you want out of it, then you can tailor it exactly to your needs. You need a solid image of what you want to get out of it, and if you will want to run better games in the future without upgrading. Compatibliity between parts is an important option. I'm not sure if newegg deliver to Canada, but if they do then thats your best bet.

 

[spoiler=Parts of a computer]CPU

RAM

Motherboard

CPU cooler (if the stock one is not good enough for you)

Hard disk

Case

Power supply

Graphics card

DVD drive (if applicable)

Operating system

 

 

For gaming, a good graphics card is what you're going to want, rather than a massively high end CPU.

 

Newegg does deliver to Canada, but for Canadians the best bet is NCIX.com. They're very good with the price matching for parts that costs less elsewhere, which often ends up costing less to build a full computer than than Newegg or other websites like Tiredirect.ca.

 

I don't know about that. Sounded good to me, so I checked and the Core i7 2600k is $25 more at ncix.

Then again you can use the price match which is almost always accepted and get it for the same price. That at the same price and other parts that are lower price on Ncix than other websites, makes for a lower price overall.

 

That's pretty good. How are they for customer service?

[Ember]

.

[Gandorf61]

 

Then again you can use the price match which is almost always accepted and get it for the same price. That at the same price and other parts that are lower price on Ncix than other websites, makes for a lower price overall.

 

That's pretty good. How are they for customer service?

 

Excellent customer service. (at least from my experience, but then again I didn't really have any problems so I can only say they do a great job at assembling your computer for a price of $50)

[jasignhagj]

They assemble it for you too? Not that I'd want that, as it's half the fun, but it'd be great to recommend to people who want custom builds but can't do it themselves.

[Gandorf61]

Yeah $50 gets you a full assembled computer + installation of operating system (if purchased) and a bunch of memory, graphics, and CPU tests to make sure everything is working the way it should. Plus they give you a one year warranty on the build which really sweetens things.

 

It's great because as you said it allows people to design custom builds without needing the experience to properly put everything together correctly.

[Sbrideau]

As far as I know as well their service is very good. I bought all my parts there, and built a computer for a friend with parts bought on NCIX.

[All_Is_Great]

Thanks again for all the help! I cleaned out the fan a little with compressed air yesterday and my laptop hasn't been overheating as much, it's actually noticable!

 

I also do run ccleaner regularly, but did not know what defragger was.

 

I think I'm gonna put off the whole building a new computer thing for now, but I'll keep in mind the ideas suggested for the future :shades: